U.S. Pork, Beef Offal Now Eligible for Vietnam

Vietnam has reinstated U.S. pork and beef offal as products eligible for export

USMEF was recently informed by FAS-Hanoi that Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture had agreed to include all pork and beef offal products on the newest version of the Vietnam letterhead certificate. This change became official on Feb. 19, when the FSIS Export Library for Vietnam was updated to reflect eligibility of these products.

Please note that FAS is instructing exporters to begin submitting updated Circular 25 Appendix 3 documentation to add the additional offal items to their company’s product list. (If you do not intend to export offal products, no action is required.)

According to USMEF-ASEAN Director Sabrina Yin, the pork offal items most likely to attract interest from Vietnamese buyers are the stomach, large intestine and uterus. Popular beef offal items include the tendon, tongue and tripe.

Before Vietnam suspended imports of offal items from the United States, U.S. pork variety meat exports to Vietnam peaked at 6,668 metric tons in 2008. The high point for U.S. beef variety meat exports to Vietnam came in 2009, at 3,760 metric tons.